Molinard, Le Mimosa, 'Mimosa', 50 ml. or 1.69 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1934, Grasse, Paris, France ..

The Maison Molinard was founded in 1849 in Grasse, Provence, in the south of France, cradle of the world's perfume industry. It has remained an entirely family-run business to this day, and is also the oldest of its kind. At that time, Molinard produced floral waters and Eaux de Cologne, which it sold in its "little shop" in the town centre. In 1891, Queen Victoria stayed at Grasse, and bought Eaux de Cologne there.

In 1900, the company moved into an old perfume factory, where the distillery structure was designed by Gustave Eiffel. Molinard is still there today. A typical Provençal showroom was set up, and its first customers were wealthy foreigners from England and Russia. They came to admire its magnificent collection of 17th and 18th century furniture, and buy Molinard eaux de Cologne together with all its floral fragrances.

Launched in 1934, Molinard’s Mimosa was created to capture the heady fragrance of this beautiful enigmatic flower. This scent is classified as a romantic and feminine floral fragrance for women, the rich heritage of which began in grasse.

The fragrance exemplifies the delicate mimosa, with green notes, iris, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, heliotrope, vanilla and musk. The aroma is sweet, woody, and vegetative with intensely tenacious leafy violet heart notes. The scent is honey soft, violet sweet, floral with delicate green undertones.

"Obviously, a feminine floral, this brings to mind, although it does not imitate at all, Guerlain’s famous Apres L’Ondee, which uses similar notes (violet, heliotrope, orris) to create the aura of a garden after a spring rain. It is certainly captivating, sweet, yet restrained. The anise and violet notes create a beautiful tapestry to support the mimosa, which I can now happily say DOES resemble one of my many product explorations, the Claus Porto Mimosa Soap I love.

The structure of the original parfum is fascinating. Recommended for all lovers of mimosa, violet and orris in perfumery. This 1934 original is still available from private collectors on the Internet (how I obtained my decant), and well worth seeking out. Suggested note tree, as a definitive one does not exist:

Tope notes are Galbanum, Ylang Ylang, Violet, Tarragon, Anise
Heart notes are Mimosa, Heliotrope, Orris, Violet Leaf
Base notes are Sandalwood, Vanilla, .. " Basenotes Review, Jack Twist

Mimosa is among the most esoteric essences, its honeyed richness .. with an anise-reminiscent nuance too .. is almost redolent of the intimate scents of love-making. The voluptuousness and animalic character underneath the sweet floralcy is beautifully highlighted. Mimosa is the promise of sunshine and hope after the spring shower.

Offered here is an exquisite 50 ml. flacon of this precious, warm, woodsy, heartbreaking scent. Label missing on the bottle. Lovely mimosa sweetness is still present. Collection.